Francis Tuttle Technology Center hosts 14th Annual Engineering Challenge

To get students excited about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), Francis Tuttle invites the students to show off their skills in a series of competitions - including bottle rockets, ping-pong ball launchers and mouse-trap vehicles.

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - Francis Tuttle Technology Center held its 14th Annual Engineering Challenge for Oklahoma City metro 6th-9th grade students Friday.

To get students excited about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), Francis Tuttle invites the students to show off their skills in a series of competitions - including bottle rockets, ping-pong ball launchers and mouse-trap vehicles.

"I'm hoping that through this experience I can introduce them to engineering and get them to come to Francis Tuttle, because it's a great career path and as many people as I can get interested in it," said Edmond Memorial and Francis Tuttle student, Drew McNair. "That's my goal. I want to get everyone in it."

The Engineering Challenge encourages them to pursue education in STEM fields.

"My family's never really gone to college. They're all kind of self-employed. Chose they're own path," said Putnam City and Francis Tuttle student, Vander Ainsworth. "I wanted to do something different. I wanted to follow engineering and go into the civil engineering career path."

Last year, more than 300 students from 15 metro schools signed up for the challenge.